EC chief hails China for mask, kit support
Print Edition
CHINA will send 2.2 million masks and 50,000 testing kits to the European Union to cope with the spread of novel coronavirus, reciprocating similar assistance Europe provided China when it was at the center of the pandemic, the bloc’s chief executive said on Wednesday.
The support from China is timely as the EU has been unable to source face masks and protective goggles in a joint procurement effort launched earlier this month.
“China has not forgotten that in January when China was the center of the virus outbreak the European Union helped,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a video message on Twitter, recalling that the EU donated 50 tons of protective equipment.
“Today we are the center of the pandemic and we need protective equipment ourselves. We are ramping up our production ... but this needs several weeks and in the meantime we are grateful for support from China.”
Von der Leyen said she had spoken to Premier Li Keqiang, who said China could ship 200,000 N95 masks, 2 million surgical masks and 50,000 testing kits to Europe immediately.
Manufacturers, mostly based in China and other Asian countries, face soaring global demand.
The EU is assessing offers for gloves and body protection equipment, and is also seeking to buy ventilators and laboratory equipment, including testing kits.
Of the 27 EU states, 25 have joined the joint procurement effort for protective equipment. However, many are also trying to gain protective gear on their own and last week China sent face masks to Italy, the European country worst-hit by the virus.
The World Health Organization called on Wednesday for “order and discipline” in the market for health equipment needed to fight the coronavirus pandemic and said it was in discussions with China and others to ramp up supplies.
“There is a scramble on the market and we need order and discipline on that,” Mike Ryan, head of WHO’s emergencies program, told a virtual press briefing.
“Countries like China and others have immense capacities for ramping up production and we are working with them to see how that can be achieved,” he added.
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